Network-based commerce facility offer management methods and systems

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments include systems, methods, and software to manage offers in a network-based commerce system. One embodiment includes providing sellers an option when listing an item for sale to receive best offers for the item from buyers. This embodiment further includes receiving best offers submitted by offerees via the network-based commerce system and notifying sellers of received best offers. Some embodiments further include providing sellers an option to accept, reject, or ignore the individual best offers received. In some such embodiments, ignored best offers expire after a period, such as 48 hours. Yet further embodiments include notifying offerees of acceptance or rejection of their submitted best offers.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/396,481, filed on Feb. 14, 2012, which is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/040,721, filed on Jan. 21, 2005, and issued asU.S. Pat. No. 8,160,928 on Apr. 17, 2012, the benefit of priority ofeach of which in claimed hereby, and each are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Contained herein is material that is subject to copyright protection.The copyright owner has no objection to facsimile reproduction of thepatent disclosure by any person as it appears in the Patent andTrademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves allrights to the copyright whatsoever.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/040,721filed Jan. 21, 2005, which application is incorporated in its entiretyherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to network-based commerce,more particularly to network-based commerce facility offer managementmethods and systems.

BACKGROUND

Electronic commerce that utilizes the Internet to sell goods andservices to customers has been increasing in its scope and scale atincreasing rates. Merchants and other sellers of goods and services areincreasingly in search of new mechanisms of listing their offered goodsand services to leverage this growth in electronic commerce.

However, despite this growth in electronic commerce, sellers and buyershave been reluctant when dealing with certain types of products andservices because current electronic commerce mechanisms do notaccurately reflect non-electronic commerce transaction process. As aresult, perceptions exist that sellers do not obtain maximized pricesfor their products or services and do not have control over the finalselling price. In addition, some buyers are not comfortable with currentelectronic commerce processes, such as online auctions, which do notresemble most non-electronic transaction processes.

Further challenges exist for sellers and buyers working to ensure theymaximize their positions in transactions. Current processes only providesellers with the ability to set terms of sale. Because of a lack ofcontrol over transaction terms, some buyers are reluctant to purchase,or even consider, an offered product or service. This reluctance has aconstraining effect on electronic commerce.

SUMMARY

The below described embodiments of the present invention are directed tonetwork-based commerce facility offer management methods and systems.

According to one embodiment, there is a network-based commerce system.The system includes a presentation server to present a listing of anitem (e.g., a good or service) for sale to a buying-user via the systemto solicit a best offer from the user for the item for sale and topresent pending best offers from buying-users received by the offerserver to the selling-user. The system further includes an offer serverto monitor a best offer submitted by the buying-user and communicatethat offer via the system to a selling-user.

Another embodiment includes a method for electronic listing within ane-commerce system. The method includes creating a seller listing for aquantity of an item for sale, wherein the listing includes an offeroption for a buyer to make an offer for the item, and posting the sellerlisting on the e-commerce system. The method further includes receivingan offer from each of one or more buyers for the item, receiving anacceptance from the seller of one or more of the offers, and ending thelisting of the item offered for sale if the number of accepted offers isequal to the quantity of the item for sale. One such embodiment furtherincludes generating an electronic communication to the seller uponposting of the seller listing on the ecommerce system, the communicationconfirming the posting was successful and generating an electroniccommunication to a buyer upon receipt of an offer from the buyer, theelectronic communication confirming the offer was successfully receivedby the electronic commerce system. This embodiment also includesgenerating an electronic communication to the seller upon receipt of theoffer from the buyer, the electronic communication notifying the sellerof the offer, generating an electronic communication to the buyer uponacceptance or rejection of the buyer's offer, generating an electroniccommunication to the buyer when an offer expires or can no longer befulfilled because the seller's inventory has reached zero.

A further embodiment provides a system for providing seller listingswithin an ecommerce system. This system includes a means for posting aseller listing for an item for sale on the ecommerce system and a meansfor receiving an offer for the item for sale from a buyer. The systemfurther includes a means for receiving a response to the offer for theitem for sale, wherein a response includes either an acceptance orrejection of the offer for the item for sale and a means for ending thelisting upon receiving a response specifying an acceptance of the offerfor the item for sale.

Another embodiment provides an electronic marketplace. The electronicmarketplace includes an electronic listing of a finite number ofsubstantially identical items for sale by a seller, wherein the listingprovides buyers an ability to make a best offer for an item for sale,further wherein the electronic listing, at the seller's discretion,includes a limit on the number of best offers individual buyers canmake, and wherein a listing is ended if the remaining finite number ofsubstantially identical items for sale equals zero.

Yet a further embodiment provides a method of receiving a listing of anitem for sale within an electronic marketplace. The method includesreceiving descriptive information about an item from a seller, receivingan amount a seller is willing to sell the item for, receiving anindication the seller is willing to accept best offers for the item frombuyers, and posting the item for sale within the electronic marketplace.

Other features of the present invention will be apparent from theaccompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a system according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention, having a client-serverarchitecture.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating multiple marketplace and paymentapplications in one example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram illustrating elements of marketplaceapplications in one example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a high-level entity-relationship diagram in accordance with anexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a general programmable processingsystem in accordance with various example embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram according to one example embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram according to one example embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a user interface according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a user interface according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a user interface according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a user interface according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a user interface according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a user interface according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Network-based commerce facility offer management methods and systems aredescribed. In various embodiments, as described below, this facilityprovides sellers an option to accept best offers from buyers for productand service offerings. The offers can include additional binding termsspecified by a buyer and a seller can choose an offer to accept. Variousother aspects and combinations of aspects are described in greaterdetail in the following description. Within this description, forpurposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention can be practiced without these specific details.

Platform Architecture

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a system 10, according to oneexample embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is builtupon a client-server architecture. A commerce platform, in the exampleform of a network-based marketplace 12, provides server-sidefunctionality, via a network 14 (e.g., the Internet) to one or moreclients. FIG. 1 illustrates, for example, a web client 16 (e.g., abrowser, such as the Internet Explorer browser developed by MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond, Wash. State), and a programmatic client 18executing on respective client machines 20 and 22.

Turning specifically to the network-based marketplace 12, an ApplicationProgram Interface (API) server 24 and a web server 26 are coupled to,and provide programmatic and web interfaces respectively to, one or moreapplication servers 28. The application servers 28 host one or moremarketplace applications 30 and payment applications 32. The applicationservers 28 are, in turn, shown to be coupled to one or more databasesservers 34 that facilitate access to one or more databases 36.

The marketplace applications 30 provide a number of marketplacefunctions and services to users that access the marketplace 12. Furtherdetail of example marketplace applications 30 are illustrated in FIG. 2and FIG. 3 and described below. Returning to FIG. 1, the paymentapplications 32 likewise provide a number of payment services andfunctions to users. The payment applications 30, in some embodiments,allow users to quantify for, and accumulate, value (e.g., in acommercial currency, such as the U.S. dollar, or a proprietary currency,such as “points”) in accounts, and then later to redeem the accumulatedvalue for products (e.g., goods or services) that are made available viathe marketplace applications 30. While the marketplace and paymentapplications 30 and 32 are shown in FIG. 1 to both form part of thenetwork-based marketplace 12, it will be appreciated that, inalternative embodiments of the present invention, the paymentapplications 32 can form part of a payment service that is separate anddistinct from the marketplace 12.

Further, while the system 10 shown in FIG. 1 employs a client-serverarchitecture, the present invention is of course not limited to such anarchitecture, and could equally well find application in a distributed,or peer-to-peer, architecture system. The various marketplace andpayment applications 30 and 32 can also be implemented as standalonesoftware programs, which do not necessarily have networkingcapabilities.

The web client 16, it will be appreciated, accesses the variousmarketplace and payment applications 30 and 32 via the web interfacesupported by the web server 26. Similarly, the programmatic client 18accesses the various services and functions provided by the marketplaceand payment applications 30 and 32 via the programmatic interfaceprovided by the API server 24. The programmatic client 18 can, forexample, be a seller application (e.g., the TurboLister applicationdeveloped by eBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) to enable sellers to authorand manage listings on the marketplace 12 in an off-line manner, and toperform batch-mode communications between the programmatic client 18 andthe network-based marketplace 12.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a third party application 38, executing on athird party server machine 40, as having programmatic access to thenetwork-based marketplace 12 via the programmatic interface provided bythe API server 24. For example, the third party application 38 can,utilizing information retrieved from the network-based marketplace 12,support one or more features or functions on a website hosted by thethird party. The third party website can, for example, provide one ormore promotional, marketplace or payment functions that are supported bythe relevant applications of the network-based marketplace 12.

Marketplace Applications

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating multiple marketplace and paymentapplications 30 in one example embodiment of the present invention. Themarketplace and payment applications 30 are part of the network-basedmarketplace 12. The marketplace 12 can provide a number of listing andprice-setting mechanisms whereby a seller can list goods or services forsale, a buyer can express interest in or indicate a desire to purchasesuch goods or services, and a price can be set for a transactionpertaining to the goods or services. To this end, the marketplaceapplications 30 are shown to include one or more auction applications 44which support auction-format listing and price setting mechanisms (e.g.,English, Dutch, Vickrey, Chinese, Double, Reverse auctions etc.). Thevarious auction applications 44 can also provide a number of features insupport of such auction-format listings, such as a reserve price featurewhereby a seller can specify a reserve price in connection with alisting and a proxy-bidding feature whereby a bidder can invokeautomated proxy bidding.

A number of fixed-price applications 46 support fixed-price listingformats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing ora catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. Specifically, buyout-typelistings (e.g., including the Buy-It-Now (BIN) technology developed byeBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) can be offered in conjunction with anauction-format listing, and allow a buyer to purchase goods or services,which are also being offered for sale via an auction, for a fixed-pricethat is typically higher than the starting price of the auction.

A number of offer applications 47 support listing formats that solicitoffers from prospective buyers for listed items. The offer applications47 provide a listing to a buyer and solicit an offer for the offeredproduct or service including a price the buyer is willing to pay for theitem. In some embodiments, the buyer can optionally include one or moreadditional terms of the offer that will be binding upon the seller uponacceptance. Buyer offers, in some embodiments, expire after a periodsuch as 48 hours. Buyer offers can also be rescinded, in someembodiments, provided the offer has not already been accepted. In someembodiments, the buyer is limited to making a finite number of offers,such as one or two offers. This forces a buyer to make a best offer forthe item or miss the opportunity to purchase the item. Offers receivedby the offer applications 47 are then presented to sellers that canoptionally accept, reject, or ignore then offers. Ignored offers, inembodiments in which offers expire after a period are automaticallyrejected after that period. Further, a buyer can be limited to havingonly a single pending offer for a listed item.

The number of offers a buyer is limited to making, in some embodiments,is configurable to provide different buyers a different number of offeropportunities. For example, a listing within a certain country may allowonly a single offer, while a listing in another country may allow two ormore offers. Another example may allow a certain number of offers basedon the type of product listed. This flexibility allows administratorsand sellers to customize listings to mimic marketplace transactionformats and associated haggling or lack thereof based on a number offactors including localized culture and business practices.

Store applications 48 allow sellers to group their listings within a“virtual” store, which can be branded and otherwise personalized by andfor the sellers. Such a virtual store can also offer promotions,incentives and features that are specific and personalized to a relevantseller.

Reputation applications 50 allow parties that transact utilizing thenetwork-based marketplace 12 to establish, build, and maintainreputations, which can be made available and published to potentialtrading partners. Consider that where, for example, the network-basedmarketplace 12 supports person-to-person trading, users may have nohistory or other reference information whereby the trustworthiness andcredibility of potential trading partners may be assessed. Thereputation applications 50 allow a user, for example through feedbackprovided by other transaction partners, to establish a reputation withinthe network-based marketplace 12 over time. Other potential tradingpartners can then reference such a reputation for the purposes ofassessing credibility and trustworthiness.

Personalization applications 52 allow users of the marketplace 12 topersonalize various aspects of their interactions with the marketplace12. For example, a user can, utilizing an appropriate personalizationapplication 52, create a personalized reference page at whichinformation regarding transactions to which the user is (or has been) aparty can be viewed. Further, a personalization application 52 canenable a user to personalize listings and other aspects of theirinteractions with the marketplace 12 and other parties.

In one embodiment, the network-based marketplace 12 can support a numberof marketplaces that are customized, for example, for specificgeographic regions. A version of the marketplace 12 can be customizedfor the United Kingdom, whereas another version of the marketplace 12can be customized for the United States. Each of these versions, alsoreferred to as internationalization application(s) 54, can operate as anindependent marketplace, or can be customized (or internationalized)presentations of a common underlying marketplace.

Navigation of the network-based marketplace 12 can be facilitated by oneor more navigation applications 56. For example, a search applicationenables keyword searches of listings published via the marketplace 12. Abrowse application allows users to browse various category, catalogue,or inventory data structures according to which listings can beclassified within the marketplace 12. Various other navigationapplications can be provided to supplement the search and browsingapplications.

In order to make listings, available via the network-based marketplace12, as visually informing and attractive as possible, the marketplaceapplications 30 can include one or more imaging applications 58 whichusers can utilize to upload images for inclusion within listings. Animaging application 58 also operates to incorporate images within viewedlistings. The imaging applications 58 can also support one or morepromotional features, such as image galleries that are presented topotential buyers. For example, sellers can pay an additional fee to havean image included within a gallery of images for promoted items.

Listing creation applications 60 allow sellers conveniently to authorlistings pertaining to goods or services that they wish to transact viathe marketplace 12, and listing management applications 62 allow sellersto manage such listings. Specifically, where a particular seller hasauthored and/or published a large number of listings, the management ofsuch listings can present a challenge. The listing managementapplications 62 provide a number of features (e.g., auto-relisting,inventory level monitors, etc.) to assist the seller in managing suchlistings. One such feature includes providing sellers with a listing ofall offers received for item. Such a listing can provide sellers withthe ability to quickly view the offers and quickly reject and acceptoffers. One or more post-listing management applications 64 also assistsellers with a number of activities that typically occur post-listing.For example, upon completion of an auction facilitated by one or moreauction applications 44, a seller may wish to leave feedback regarding aparticular buyer. To this end, a post-listing management application 64can provide an interface to one or more reputation applications 50 toallow the seller conveniently to provide feedback regarding multiplebuyers to the reputation applications 50.

Dispute resolution applications 66 provide mechanisms whereby disputesarising between transacting parties can be resolved. For example, thedispute resolution applications 66 can provide guided procedures wherebythe parties are guided through a number of steps in an attempt to settlea dispute. In the event that the dispute cannot be settled via theguided procedures, the dispute can be escalated to a third partymediator or arbitrator.

A number of fraud prevention applications 68 implement various frauddetection and prevention mechanisms to reduce the occurrence of fraudwithin the marketplace 12.

Messaging applications 70 are responsible for the generation anddelivery of messages to users of the network-based marketplace 12. Suchmessages, for example, can advise users of the status of listings at themarketplace 12 (e.g., providing “outbid” notices to bidders during anauction process or to provide promotional, merchandising information tousers, offer received notices to sellers, and offer rejected or offeraccepted/item purchased notices to buyers). Some such messages alsoinclude confirmation messages that bid or offers have been successfullyreceived by the network-based marketplace and messages that an offer hasbeen accepted, rejected, or expired. Yet further messages includemessages informing a seller that an offer has been received for aproduct or service the seller has listed. In some embodiments, messagesfrom the messaging application 70 are sent via email, while in otherembodiments, the messages are delivered within the network-basedmarketplace 12 itself. Yet further embodiments include sending themessage both by email and within the network-based marketplace 12.

Messages sent by the messaging applications 70 can also includeinvitations to make a further offer or bid for an item a messagerecipient has made an offer for or bid on. Such messages can include alink back to the same item the offer or bid was made for. These messagecan also, or alternatively, include a link to a similar item listedwithin the network-based marketplace 12 that a buyer could be interestedin. This link is a recommendation to the buyer of another listed itemalong with an invitation to make an offer for, bid upon, or otherwisepurchase the alternate item.

Merchandising applications 72 support various merchandising functionsthat are made available to sellers to enable sellers to increase salesvia the marketplace 12. The merchandising applications 80 also operatethe various merchandising features that can be invoked by sellers, andcan monitor and track the success of merchandising strategies employedby sellers.

The network-based marketplace 12 itself, or one or more parties thattransact via the marketplace 12, can operate loyalty programs that aresupported by one or more loyalty/promotions applications 74. Forexample, a buyer can earn loyalty or promotions points for eachtransaction established and/or concluded with a particular seller, andbe offered a reward for which accumulated loyalty points can beredeemed.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram illustrating elements of marketplaceapplications 30 in one example embodiment of the present invention. Themarket place applications 30 include a presentation server 302 and anoffer server 304.

The presentation server 302, in some embodiments, is a softwareapplication, or part thereof, executing on a programmable computerexecuting other software applications including other serverapplications. In other embodiments, the presentation server 302 is aprogrammable computer provided with the sole purpose of executing thepresentation server 302 software.

The presentation server 302 is provided to present a listing of an item(e.g., goods or services) for sale to a buying-user via thenetwork-based marketplace 12. In some embodiments, the listing isprovided via a webpage to a user, such as a buyer, to solicit a bestoffer from the user for the item for sale. In some webpage embodiments,the presentation server 302 builds the webpage from data retrieved froma database, such as from the items table 94 illustrated in FIG. 4 anddiscussed below. Web pages built and provided by the presentation server302 can include information about the item for sale such as adescription and a picture of the item. In some other embodiments, thepresentation server 302 includes any one or more of a web server, ane-mail server, an instant message server, an RSS server, a voice serverand a fax server.

The presentation server 302 also presents pending offers frombuying-users received by the offer server 304 to the selling-user. Insome embodiments, the presentation server 302 presents received offersto the selling-user within a user interface.

The user interface can provide the selling-user the ability to rejectand accept one or more offers. The user interface, in some embodiments,allows the selling-user to reject multiple offers simultaneously (e.g.,in a batch). When a selling-user has listed more than one substantiallyidentical item within a single listing, the selling user can use someembodiments of the user interface to accept multiple offerssimultaneously. Other embodiments require sellers to accept multipleoffers individually. The user interface provided can also include a textfield wherein the selling user can enter text to be included with anotice to the buying-user that the buying-user's best offer is rejectedor accepted.

The offer server 304, in some embodiments, is a software application, orpart thereof, executing on a programmable computer executing othersoftware applications including other server applications. In otherembodiments, the offer server 304 is a programmable computer providedwith the sole purpose of executing the offer server 304 software.

The offer server 304 is provided to receive and monitor an offersubmitted by a user. The offer server 304 further communicates thatreceived offer via the network-based marketplace 12 to a selling-userwho has listed the item the offer was received for. The offer can also,or alternatively, be communicated to the selling-user via an email. Insome embodiments, the offer is communicated to the selling-user via themessaging application(s) 70 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Upon receipt of an offer acceptance or rejection by the offer server304, a notice is communicated to the buying-user over the network-basedmarketplace 12 of the acceptance or rejection. That notice includes anytext entered by the selling-user in the text field to be included withthe notice.

In some further embodiments, the network-based marketplace 12 alsoincludes a payment server, such as payment application(s) 32 illustratedin FIG. 2 and described above. In some such embodiments, the paymentserver processes payments for an accepted best offer upon the offerserver 304 receiving a best offer acceptance from a selling-user.

Data Structures

FIG. 4 is a high-level entity-relationship diagram, illustrating varioustables 90 that can be maintained within the databases 36 and that areutilized by and support the marketplace and payment applications 30 and32. A user table 92 contains a record for each registered user of thenetwork-based marketplace 12, and can include identifier, address, andfinancial instrument information pertaining to each registered user. Auser can, it will be appreciated, operate as a seller, a buyer, or both,within the network-based marketplace 12. In one example embodiment ofthe present invention, a buyer may be a user that has accumulated value(e.g., commercial or proprietary currency stored in a user-currencytable 108), and is then able to exchange the accumulated value for itemsthat are offered for sale by the network-based marketplace 12.

The tables 90 also include an items table 94 in which are maintaineditem records for goods and services that are available to be, or havebeen, transacted via the marketplace 12. Each item record within theitems table 94 may furthermore be linked to one or more user recordswithin the user table 92, so as to associate a seller and one or moreactual or potential buyers with each item record.

A transaction table 96 contains a record for each transaction (e.g., apurchase transaction) pertaining to items for which records exist withinthe items table 94.

An order table 98 is populated with order records, each order recordbeing associated with an order. Each order, in turn, may be with respectto one or more transactions for which records exist within thetransactions table 96.

Bid records within a bids table 100 each relate to a bid or offerreceived at the network-based marketplace 12 in connection with anauction-format or best-offer listing supported by an auction application44 or offer application 47. Bid records can include data such as a buyeridentifier, a listing identifier, a bid or offer amount, time of theoffer or bid, an indication that the bid or offer has been rescinded,additional terms entered by a buyer, an indicator if the bid or offerwas the winning bid or offer, and any other bid or offer specific datanecessary or otherwise attributable to an offer or bid.

A feedback table 102 is utilized by one or more reputation applications50, in one example embodiment, to construct and maintain reputationinformation concerning users. A history table 104 maintains a history oftransactions to which a user has been a party. One or more attributestables 106 record attribute information pertaining to items for whichrecords exist within the items table 94. Considering only a singleexample of such an attribute, the attributes tables 106 may indicate acurrency attribute associated with a particular item, the currencyattribute identifying the currency of a price for the relevant item asspecified in by a seller.

Platform

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a general programmable processingmachine, such as a computer system 500, in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention.

The computer system 500 includes a set of instructions 524 for causingthe computer system 500 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein. In alternative embodiments, the computer system 500operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate inthe capacity of a server or a client machine in server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine may be a server computer, a clientcomputer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance,a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executinga set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 500 includes a processor 502 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU) a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both),a main memory 504 and a static memory 506, which communicate with eachother via a bus 508. The computer system 500 may further include a videodisplay unit 510 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode raytube (CRT)). The computer system 500 also includes an alphanumeric inputdevice 512 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 514 (e.g., amouse), a disk drive unit 516, a signal generation device 518 (e.g., aspeaker) and a network interface device 520.

The disk drive unit 516 includes a machine-readable medium 522 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 524)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein. The software 524 may also reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 504 and/or within the processor 502during execution thereof by the computer system 500, the main memory 504and the processor 502 also constituting machine-readable media.

The software 524 may further be transmitted or received over a network526 via the network interface device 520.

While the machine-readable medium 522 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals.

Flowcharts

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method 600, according toone example embodiment of the present invention. The method 600 relatesto electronic listing within an e-commerce system, such as thenetwork-based marketplace 12 of FIG. 1. The method 600 includes creating(block 602) a seller listing for a quantity of an item (e.g., a good orservice) for sale wherein the listing includes an offer option for abuyer to make an offer for the item and posting (block 604) the sellerlisting on the e-commerce system. The method 600 further includesreceiving (block 608) an offer from each of one or more buyers for theitem and receiving (block 614) from the seller, an acceptance of one ormore of the offers. The method 600 then ends (block 618) the listing ofthe item offered for sale if the number of accepted offers is equal tothe quantity of the item for sale.

The method 600 also optionally includes generating (block 606)electronic communications upon the occurrence of certain events. Somesuch events may include generating (block 610) an electroniccommunication to the seller upon posting of the seller listing on theecommerce system, the electronic communication confirming the postingwas successful and to a buyer upon receipt of an offer from the buyer,the electronic communication confirming the offer was successfullyreceived by the electronic commerce system. Some further events includegenerating (block 612) an electronic communication to the seller uponreceipt of the offer from the buyer, the electronic communicationnotifying the seller of the offer and generating (block 616) anelectronic communication to the buyer upon acceptance or rejection ofthe buyer's offer, the electronic communication notifying the buyer ofthe acceptance or rejection of the buyer's offer. In some embodiments,generating the electronic communications includes automaticallygenerating and sending of email upon the occurrence of the eventtriggering the generating of the communication.

Some generated electronic communications, such as an email notifying abuyer that their offer has been rejected, include an invitation for thebuyer to make another offer, to make a bid, or to purchase the item at abuyout price. Other example electronic communications may include anemail notifying a buyer that their offer was accepted, or in aninvitation in the form of a message and hyperlink to pay for the item.Other example electronic communications include one or more invitationsand hyperlinks to perform other actions.

Some example embodiments of the method 600 also include limiting a buyerto making no more than a specified number of offers for a sellerlisting, such as one or two offers. Some received offers 608 includeadditional terms from a buyer and a received acceptance of such an offerbinds the seller and the buyer to the additional terms.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram according to one example embodiment ofthe present invention. The process flow diagram is of a method 700 ofreceiving a listing of an item for sale within an electronicmarketplace, such as network-based marketplace 12 as illustrated inFIG. 1. A listing generated according to the method 700 is a buyout-typelisting, such as a Buy-It-Now (BIN) listing within the eBay.com website,in combination with a best-offer listing as described herein. Otherembodiment include a combination of one or more other types of productlistings with a best-offer listing or an item that is solely abest-offer listing.

The method 700 includes receiving (block 702) descriptive informationabout an item from a seller and receiving (block 704) an amount forwhich a seller is willing to sell the item. The method 700 furtherincludes receiving (block 706) an indication the seller is willing toaccept best offers for the item from buyers and posting (block 708) theitem for sale within the electronic marketplace.

In various embodiments of the method 700, the item for sale includes anautomobile, a piece of jewelry, an electronic device, a service, orvirtually any other type of goods or services.

User Interfaces

The following user interfaces are provided as examples of userinterfaces according to various aspects within one or more embodimentsof the present invention. In some embodiments, the user interfaces areweb pages viewable and operable within a web browser application such asInternet Explorer developed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.State. In other embodiments, the user interfaces are part of a standalone application executable on a computer system that communicated overa network such as the TurboLister application developed by eBay Inc., ofSan Jose, Calif.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a user interface 800 according to oneexample embodiment of the present invention. The user interface 800 is abeginning point for a seller to list an item within a network-basedmarketplace 12. The user interface 800 includes a title bar 802 thatdisplays a title of the user interface. A title within the title bar 802provides context to users as to the purpose or use of the user interface800.

The user interface 800 includes a “SELL ITEM AT ONLINE AUCTION”selection item 804, a “SELL AT A FIXED PRICE” selection item 806, and a“SELL AT BEST OFFER” selection item 808. The user interface 800 furtherincludes a submission item 810.

The selections items 804, 806, and 808 are illustrated as check boxeswithin the user interface 800, the selection of which indicate that auser listing an item desires that an item being listed be listed withthe selected format(s). One or more selection items 804, 806, and 808can be selected. In some embodiments, the “SELL AT BEST OFFER” selectionitem 808 can only be selected in combination with the “SELL AT FIXEDPRICE” selection item 806. After selection of the one or more selectionitems 804, 806, and 808, a user selects the selection item 810 to causethe listing format selections to be submitted electronically over anetwork.

An example of when more than one of the selection items 804, 806, and808 are selected includes a listing to sell an item at a fixed price,and under the best offer format. In such a case, a buyer can purchasethe item immediately at the fixed price or the buyer can make an offer,which may or may not be accepted.

Another example is when a seller selects all of the selection items 804,806, and 808 indicating the seller wants to utilize all of the formats.In such a scenario, an item is listed with a fixed price buyers can payto purchase the item immediately or make a best offer. Further, buyerscan make bids under the online auction format. If a buyer pays the fixedprice or a seller accepts an offer, the listing is ended and the auctionis stopped prior to completion. Otherwise, at the end of the auctionperiod, the highest bidder wins the auction and can purchase the item atthe winning bid price.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a user interface 900 according to oneexample embodiment of the present invention. The user interface 900 is aview of a listing within an electronic marketplace, such as thenetwork-based marketplace 12 of FIG. 1. The user interface 900 includesa title bar 902 and item information such as a picture 904 of the itemand an item description 906. The user interface 900 further includeslisting information 908 including information such as when the listingwas made, when the listing ends, and various other items of informationrelated to the listing. Additionally, the user interface includes alisting format portion 910 that includes information about the format ofthe listing.

The information about the listing format in the listing format portion910, as illustrated includes a buyout price 912, buyout submission item914, and a “Submit Best Offer” hyperlink 916. The buyout price 912indicates that the item of the listing can be purchased immediately at afixed price of the buyout price 912. The buyout submission item 914,when selected, causes the user interface to submit an indication thatthe user will purchase the item at the buyout price 912. The “SubmitBest Offer” hyperlink 916, when selected causes the user interface tosubmit an indication the user wants to make an offer for the item. Insome embodiments, selection of the “Submit Best Offer” hyperlink 916causes another user interface, such as the user interface 1000 of FIG.10, to be displayed to the user for use in submitting a best offer.Other example embodiments of the listing format portion 910 can includeone or more text boxes in which a user can enter an amount of a bid foran auction format listing or an amount of a best offer and anyadditional terms of the offer.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a user interface 1000 according to oneexample embodiment of the present invention. The user interface 1000accepts terms of a user's offer, such as a best offer, for a listeditem. The user interface 1000 includes a title 1002, item identifyinginformation 1004, and information of other listing formats of thelisting 1006, such as a current buyout price. The user interface 1000further includes an offer price input field 1008, an additional termsinput field 1010, and a submission item 1012, the selection of whichcauses an offer to be electronically submitted. In some embodiments, theterms of an offer are displayed to the offering user for confirmationafter selection of the submission item 1012, but before the electronicsubmission. If the terms are as intended by the offering user, theoffering user selects a confirmation item and the offer is thenelectronically submitted. In some embodiments, the confirmation is madewithin a popup user interface, such as a message box. In otherembodiments, the confirmation is made within another user interface.

In some embodiments, a user who has already used the user interface 1000to submit an offer for an item cannot use the user interface 1000 tosubmit another offer for the same item. In such embodiments, a query ismade against an offer database to determine if an identified user haspreviously made an offer on the listed item. In other embodiments, theuser interface 1000 allows a user to make more than one offer on alisted item, but only if the previous offers have been rejected orrescinded.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a user interface 1100 according to oneexample embodiment of the present invention. The user interface 1100provides listing users a view of received offers for one or morelistings and the ability to accept and reject the received offers. Theuser interface 1100 includes a title 1102 and listing information suchas a picture 1104 of the item and details of the listing 1106. The userinterface 1100 further includes offers 1108, 1116, and 1124 and offerinformation such as price, quantity of the listed item desired within anoffer, and time remaining before the offer expires. The user interfacealso includes a selection item 1106, 1112, and 1122 for each offer that,when selected, indicates the user is declining, or rejecting, theselected offers. Once the selection items 1106, 1112, and 1122 areselected for offers to decline, a user then selects the submission item1130 to decline the selected offers. The user interface 1100 furtherincludes accept offer items 1110, 1118, and 1126 and decline offer items1111, 1120, and 1128, that, when selected, accept or decline anindividual offer.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a user interface 1200 according to oneexample embodiment of the present invention. The user interface 1200 isused by sellers in declining offers received from buyers. The userinterface 1200 includes a title 1202 and listing information such as apicture 1204 of the item and details of the listing 1206. The userinterface 1200 also includes the details of a particular offer 1208, atext box 1210 for entering a message for transmission to the offeringbuyer along with a notice that the offer was declined, and a submissionitem 1212 for submitting the decline of the offer and any messageentered within the text box 1210.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a user interface 1300 according to oneexample embodiment of the present invention. The user interface is usedby sellers in accepting offers received from buyers. The user interface1300 includes a title 1302 and listing information such as a picture1304 of the item and details of the listing 1306. The user interfacealso includes the details of a particular offer 1308 and a submissionitem 1310 to cause the user interface 1300 to submit the acceptance ofthe offer to the offering buyer.

Thus, network-based commerce facility offer management methods andsystems have been described. Although the present invention has beendescribed with reference to specific example embodiments, it will beevident that various modifications and changes may be made to theseembodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

1. A method comprising: retrieving, from a database, a record related toan item to be transacted via a computer system, the record including: apublished item price at which the seller is willing to sell the itemunder a buyout transaction format, an offer indication that a seller ofthe item is willing to accept an offer from a seller under an offertransaction format; and a communication message from a buyer indicatingpotential user interest in purchasing the item; generating a userinterface, using the record, to include the communication message from abuyer indicating potential user interest in purchasing the item and afirst user-selectable interface component which is user-selectable by auser to initiate submission of an offer for the item to the buyer underthe offer transaction format, the initiation of the submission of theoffer including sending an email message from the computer system to thebuyer.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a userinterface, using the record, to include the communication message from abuyer indicating potential user interest in purchasing the item and asecond user-selectable interface component which is user-selectable by auser to transmit a communication message from the computer system to thebuyer.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user-selectableinterface component is a hyperlink.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe initiation of the submission of the offer includes generating afurther user interface component that includes an offer price inputfield.
 5. The method of claim 1, including generating the user interfaceto include an offer price input field.
 6. The method of claim 4,including, responsive to user-selection of the second user-selectableinterface component, submitting an offer for the item at a pricedifferent from the published item price to the computer system fortransmission to the seller.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thesubmitted offer includes an offer price entered into the offer priceinput field.
 8. The method of claim 4, wherein the offer price inputfield automatically includes a generated price offer suggestion.
 9. Aserver system comprising: a retrieval module, executing on one or morecomputer processors, to retrieve, from a database, a record related toan item to be transacted via a computer system, the record including: apublished item price at which the seller is willing to sell the itemunder a buyout transaction format, an offer indication that a seller ofthe item is willing to accept an offer from a seller under an offertransaction format; and a communication message from a buyer indicatingpotential user interest in purchasing the item; a first generationmodule, executing on one or more computer processors, to generate a userinterface, using the record, to include the communication message from abuyer indicating potential user interest in purchasing the item and afirst user-selectable interface component which is user-selectable by auser to initiate submission of an offer for the item to the buyer underthe offer transaction format, the initiation of the submission of theoffer including sending an email message from the computer system to thebuyer.
 10. The system of claim 9, further comprising: a secondgeneration module, executing on one or more computer processors, togenerate a user interface, using the record, to include thecommunication message from a buyer indicating potential user interest inpurchasing the item and a second user-selectable interface componentwhich is user-selectable by a user to transmit a communication messagefrom the computer system to the buyer.
 11. The system of claim 9,wherein the first user-selectable interface component is a hyperlink.12. The system of claim 9, wherein the initiation of the submission ofthe offer includes generating a further user interface component thatincludes an offer price input field.
 13. The system of claim 12,including, a submission module, executing on one or more computerprocessors, to, responsive to user-selection of the seconduser-selectable interface component, submit an offer for the item at aprice different from the published item price to the computer system fortransmission to the seller.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thesubmitted offer includes an offer price entered into the offer priceinput field.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the offer price inputfield automatically includes a generated price offer suggestion.
 16. Anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing instructionsthat, when read by a machine, cause the machine to perform operationscomprising: retrieving, from a database, a record related to an item tobe transacted via a computer system, the record including: a publisheditem price at which the seller is willing to sell the item under abuyout transaction format, an offer indication that a seller of the itemis willing to accept an offer from a seller under an offer transactionformat; and a communication message from a buyer indicating potentialuser interest in purchasing the item; generating a user interface, usingthe record, to include the communication message from a buyer indicatingpotential user interest in purchasing the item and a firstuser-selectable interface component which is user-selectable by a userto initiate submission of an offer for the item to the buyer under theoffer transaction format, the initiation of the submission of the offerincluding sending an email message from the computer system to thebuyer.
 17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim16, wherein the first user-selectable interface component is ahyperlink.
 18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 16, wherein the initiation of the submission of the offer includesgenerating a further user interface component that includes an offerprice input field.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium of claim 18, including, a submission module, executing on one ormore computer processors, to, responsive to user-selection of the seconduser-selectable interface component, submit an offer for the item at aprice different from the published item price to the computer system fortransmission to the seller.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium of claim 19, wherein the submitted offer includes anoffer price entered into the offer price input field.